A manufactured home with a covered porch and vinyl siding. (Photo: Lindasj22, via Shutterstock)It’s no secret that California is a very expensive place to live. California homes are being sold at two-and-half times the national average and rents are twice as much. Perhaps, there is no greater example that the dream of home ownership is dead than a taxpayer-financed housing project in San Jose.
A view of the California drought from Marine One during President Obama's visit earlier this year. (Photo: White House)OPINION: There is an Armenian proverb: “On a rainy day many offer to water the chickens.” And in a very dry year there are many who want to follow the call to tear out their lawns. The call is coming from the Department of Water Resources and others for urban homeowners to start tearing out their lawns, with financial incentives for doing so.
Northern California's Lake Oroville, the state's largest reservoir, formed by the Feather River and Oroville Dam. (Photo: Quinn Comendant.)It’s enough water to fill Lake Oroville and more, and it’s flowing out on to lawns and landscapes in cities and communities across the state each year, according to the Department of Water Resources (DWR). But with the state deep in drought and water supplies dwindling, there’s a movement underfoot that’s hoping to change that.